San Francisco 49ers
vs.
Seattle Seahawks
Week 3
NFL Free Pick
9/25/16
Week 3 of the NFL season features a pair of 1-1 teams from the NFC West, as San Francisco will visit Seattle. Their 1-1 records just so happen to be good enough for a Four-way tie atop the division, along with the L.A. Rams and the Arizona Cardinals. Seattle is currently a 9.5 point favorite and the over/under listed at 40.5. The low over/under comes from the fact that the 49ers and Seahawks have had two of the NFL’s more putrid offenses through the first two weeks.
Seattle has struggled from an offensive standpoint largely because of the offensive line. This has been a problem for Russell Wilson as he’s had a lot of pressure to deal with. Wilson has also been limited with his legs since he got his ankle rolled up on by NDamukong Suh versus Miami in Week 1. A year ago Wilson was fantastic, completing a career-high 68.1 percent of his passes. Through the first two Game this year he’s been held to 62.8 percent, 239.5 net passing yards per Game (includes the deduction of sack yardage), one touchdown and one interception. It’s been sub-par to say the least.
Christine Michael and Tyler Lockett have been the biggest threats to help Wilson move the ball thus far. Michael has averaged an impressive 5.0 yards per carry, but he’s only run the ball 25 times combined in the first two Games. Lockett has 116 yards on seven receptions, good for an average of 16.6 yards per reception.
Defensively, Seattle has been good as usual. They have given up a league-best 248.5 yards per Game. The Seahawks have also gotten after the quarterback, recording eight sacks on the season.
San Francisco’s offense has struggled to find bright spots. Blaine GAbbert has been pedestrian. He’s completed only 54.9 percent of his passes, thrown for only 203.5 net yards per Game (he’s only been sacked twice), three touchdowns and two interceptions. Now GAbbert has to go against one of the NFL’s best pass rushes.
Carlos Hyde has had nowhere to go in the running Game. He’s averaging only 3.3 yards per carry on 37 attempts this season. Jeremy Kerley has been well-short of imposing as the 49ers top target. He’s caught a team-high nine passes on 17 targets for 90 yards and no touchdowns. No San Francisco receiver has reached triple digits in reception yards after two Games!
The 49ers have only recorded three sacks on the year. But they’ll go up against of the NFL’s most lackluster offensive lines to this point.
To summarize, Seattle has averaged a paltry 329 yards and 7.5 points per Game in 2016. San Francisco hasn’t been much better as they’ve been held to 311 yards and 27.5 points per Game in their first two Games.
Prediction: The 49ers have scored a respectable amount of points for the lack of yards they’ve GAined. Seattle’s offense has been awful. Just can’t trust the Seahawks laying significant points until their offense shows up. 49ers +9.5